Underestimated
by Jurojin
Summary: Tony Almeida, former sniper in the Marines, former head of CTU, former husband of Special Agent Michelle Dessler. - Day 7 stuff so if you haven't seen it, don't read.


_PG  
Renee/Tony (Don't worry it's not what you think.)_

_Day7  
_

* * *

Renee Walker watched through the glass as her boss shuffled picture after picture in front of their suspect. She raised the file and skimmed over it again. Tony Almeida, former sniper in the Marines, former head of CTU, former husband of Special Agent Michelle Dessler.

That was the one title that caught her eye. She knew all about what happened between them, well in the clinical sense one can only get from a file. He had committed treason for her. Renee glanced back up at Almeida. What kind of devotion did it take for someone to give up their life for someone else? Sure, a soldier knows they could possibly die in the line of duty but this was different. He _knew_ what he was doing. He _knew_ the outcome. But he didn't care. All that mattered was _her_.

Renee flipped to the back of the file and ran her finger over one of the pictures that had been attached. From the notes, she knew it was from a sting operation to retrieve Almeida from an assassin. Apparently, he'd kept the picture in his wallet during his divorce. She compared the two men; the present Almeida with the past. The man in the picture was smiling, his whole face lit up. He looked unworried, content to just stand with his wife and absorb everything about her he could. She looked back through the window. The man sitting before her now had…nothing. His eyes showed nothing; the light itself seeming to pass right through him. She sighed. This wasn't working. They weren't doing this right.

"Larry." She spoke into her headset and watched as her boss turned and seemed to look right at her through the glass. "Could you come back in here?" He turned back to Almeida and made a smart ass comment, then joined her in the control room.

"This isn't working. He isn't going to tell you anything. Those pictures don't mean anything to him."

"So what do you suggest Renee? It's not like we have a lot of options."

"Let me try?"

"What makes you think you can do any better than I did?"

Renee lifted her hand and showed him the picture. Larry's eyes squinted in confusion and then widened in recognition. "Alright you can try it. But be careful. That's exactly the kind of thing that could set him off."

She nodded and pushed through the holding room door, shutting it behind her. Tony looked up at her for a second and then continued to stare straight ahead. She approached the table and slid the photograph over the top of others Larry had been placing. Tony looked down and for a split second she saw it. Emotion. His eyes seemed to flash in what she could only assume was pain and then he went back to staring straight ahead.

She opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off.

"You remind me of her."

Renee tilted her head in question and he continued.

"Not in appearance. But she was like you; driven, professional. She always tried to do what she thought was right, no matter what." She shivered at his voice. It was low and rough and was a pleasant tone but the small wave of emotion she heard caused her chest to tighten just a bit.

"The last time I saw her was also in a photograph. Her skin was ashen grey and stained pink in some places. Her head had been split several times and she had my bloody handprints on her brand new blouse I had bought with her the day before." He hadn't looked at her yet the entire time he'd been speaking, but he looked straight at her now and she sucked in a quick breath at the look in his eyes.

"So you can show me all the pictures you want. Nothing you have will ever come close to seeing my wife dead. So why don'tcha just bring Bauer in here and let's get this over with."

Renee couldn't move for a second. His eyes had pinned her to her seat with such longing and despair she was having trouble breathing. Finally she got herself under control and left the room.

No one noticed it, but Tony Almeida smiled.


End file.
